Judge dismisses NYRI lawsuit

Saturday

Oct 27, 2007 at 12:01 AMOct 27, 2007 at 12:14 PM

A federal judge Friday dismissed a lawsuit by New York Regional Interconnect challenging a state law intended to protect home owners from the use of eminent domain by private transmission companies, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office said.

Decision ‘a win for homeowners’

ALBANY — A federal judge Friday dismissed a lawsuit by New York Regional Interconnect challenging a state law intended to protect home owners from the use of eminent domain by private transmission companies, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office said.

The Albany-based power line company had sought to invalidate the law, arguing it discriminated against the company and violated its constitutional rights to equal protection and due process.

In a statement, Cuomo called the bench ruling by U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy “a win for homeowners” throughout Upstate New York.

Cuomo said the ruling preserved “New York’s right to make decisions on projects like NYRI based on our state’s environmental and energy needs, not on the desires of private companies or the federal government.”

NYRI has proposed building a 200-mile, $1.6 billion high-voltage transmission line from the Utica area to the lower Hudson Valley to deliver electricity to an area where power demand is expected to outstrip supply in a few years.

Oneida County reaction
Oneida County officials hailed the decision, but cautioned the battle was far from over.
“This is another positive step, and we keep moving forward and breaking them down piece by piece,” Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente said. “We still have a ways to go, but this was a good one.”

Leon Koziol, who is running against Picente for the county’s top spot in Nov. 6 election, said he expected the court would rule the way it did. But, he said, the proposal was far from dead.

“The designation of the corridor is far more serious,” he said. “That involves federal supremacy issues and has not been litigated.”

Steve DiMeo, who represents Oneida County in the group Counties Against Regional Interconnect, said the federal law was still in play, despite the court’s ruling.

“It does not negate the federal corridor designation, which is also open to legal challenges, and there will be several of those,” he said.

Mike Steiger of Upstate New York Citizens Alliance, was more optimistic.

“They would only be able to do it under the federal law,” he said. “We think it’s going to be risky … because they are dealing with states rights.”

Griffo said while it is a victory, “We are not done with this fight, and I urge the community to stay united with those federal, state and local officials who will see this thing through to the end.”

Leading up to Friday’s decision
Former Gov. George Pataki created a major obstacle to the project by signing a law in October 2006 restricting NYRI’s use of eminent domain.

Without the ability to force property sales, the company would have little chance of securing all the necessary land to complete the line, NYRI officials said.

NYRI argued the law unconstitutionally targeted a single company and would have a chilling effect on economic development and investment in New York.

The company also claimed the law destroyed well-established laws and procedures for siting projects.

If Judge McAvoy’s ruling stands, it would mean NYRI would have to turn to the federal government to pursue its project.

In October, the federal government announced it was designating two so-called “national interest electric transmission corridors,” which encompass all or part of 10 states where officials say aging high voltage lines are not capable of handling growing power demand.

The mid-Atlantic power corridor runs from Virginia and Washington, D.C., north to include most of Maryland, all of New Jersey and Delaware, and large sections of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Under a federal law passed in 2005, the federal government can approve new power transmission towers within the corridors if states and regional groups fail to build such lines.

The corridor designations may increase pressure on state regulators to grant permits to private industry to build new lines. Utilities in many states have long complained state authorities are reluctant to approve new lines, often because of local opposition.

If state authorities do not approve any construction after a year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, may intervene and approve a grid project if the new line is deemed necessary to satisfy national power needs. Such approvals could, in theory, include the use of eminent domain law to buy private property.

FERC has had such authority for years in considering applications for gas lines, but this is the first time it also will be available for electricity transmission, officials said.

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